The present invention relates to an object compacting device and more particularly to such a device appropriate for home use which is adapted to compress objects, such as beverage containers, without manual assistance and possesses the capability of dependable, fully automatic operation from insertion of the object into the device until discharge of the compacted object from the device without danger of injury to the operator.
The prior art is replete with compacting devices such as those disclosed by the Shiokawa U.S. Pat. No. 2,896,529; the Huber et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,062,130; the Mankki et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,062,131; the Swartz U.S. Pat. No. 3,079,856; the Galas U.S. Pat. No. 3,104,607; the Chapleau U.S. Pat. No. 3,106,888; the Taylor U.S. Pat. No. 3,208,372; the Hopkins U.S. Pat. No. 3,353,478; and the Brown et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,527,161. The device of the present invention has achieved a reliability of operation, a safety of performance, a reduction in size and a reduction in overall expense not heretofore achieved in such prior art devices.
The recent emphasis on the conservation of natural resources and the reduction of pollution as well as the constant desire for labor saving devices have provided an impetus to the development of methods and apparatus for compacting used products for ease of disposal or for re-use of their constituent raw materials. Containers in which various products and particularly those in which food products and beverages are packed and sold accumulate in profusion in the home so as to create a particularly acute problem for disposal. Yet such containers, and particularly those constructed of metal are easily recycled to reclaim their constituent raw material. Various devices have been developed to compact such containers and other refuse to facilitate disposal and/or recycling. Such prior art devices are characterized by a structure having a receptacle into which such used materials or objects are compressed until a predefined limit is reached. Upon reaching the given limit, the device must typically be opened for removal of the receptacle to permit disposal of the compressed material or objects and continued use of the apparatus.
Since such devices operate to accumulate the compacted material, they are usually of comparatively large size and accordingly require the use of relatively cumbersome and expensive operative elements. Such devices have not successfully combined the capability of reliably compacting items with the ability to operate in complete safety while being of a compact size and of a cost compatible with household use.
Therefore, it has long been recognized that it would be desirable to have an object compacting device capable of dependable, fully automatic operation without danger of injury to the operator and being of a size and cost acceptable for household use.